THE DRY
****
Director: Robert Connelly
Screenplay: Robert Connelly and Harry Cripps, based on Jane Harper’s eponymous novel.
Principal cast:
Eric Bana
Genevieve O’Reilly
Keir O’Donnell
Matt Nable
William Zappa
John Polson
Country: Australia/USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 117 mins.
Australian release date: 1 January 2021.
Despite the restrictions brought about by the SARS-CoV-2 bug, it’s been a bumper second half of the year for great Aussie films although, regrettably, some of the better ones have been little-seen. Since July, we’ve been treated to Babyteeth, A Lion Returns and The Furnace, and now we’ve got The Dry and the soon-to-be-released Penguin Bloom and High Ground (yes, the latter three will be seen in January but, initially, they were slated for earlier release dates). It’s quite a list and, if you love home-grown stories, you should do your best to see them all. The Dry, directed and co-written by Robert Connolly, is closely drawn from Jane Harper’s chart-topping novel of the same name. As a director, he’s been working in television in recent years and this film marks his first return to the big screen since 2014’s Paper Planes - and what a return it is.
Beginning with a series of aerial shots of shockingly drought-stricken country in western Victoria, we follow Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) as he drives to the fictional town of Kiewarra, where there’s been no rain for 324 days. He’s a federal cop but he’s returning to his home-town in a private capacity to attend the funeral of one of his mates from the past, Luke (Martin Dingle Wall). Luke, it’s assumed by the locals, was driven mad by the drought and his dying farm, shooting his wife and child then turning the gun on himself. Aaron left Kiewarra 20 years ago after another mysterious death, that of a teenage schoolfriend of both he and Luke, Ellie (BeBe Bettencourt), a tragic event for which he was rumoured to be responsible and he’s not entirely happy to be back. Indeed, old grievances are aired almost immediately when he shows up at the funeral service. The only people slightly pleased to see him are Luke’s parents, Gerry and Barb (Bruce Spence and Julia Blake), and Gretchen (Genevieve O’Reilly), another of his schoolfriends from the past. Gerry wants Aaron to look at Luke’s accounts, convinced that his son is innocent of the crime of which he is accused, and Gretchen? Well, maybe she has other things on her mind. Gradually, the past and the present begin to interconnect and Aaron finds he’s having to ask his bosses for more and more time off. Joining forces with the town’s recently arrived policeman, Greg Raco (Keir O’Donnell), he decides he can’t leave Kiewarra until he’s got to the bottom of both tragedies. The search will keep him, and us, guessing until the very end.
Connolly and his co-scriptwriter Harry Cripps, who also co-wrote the aforementioned Penguin Bloom, have done a terrific job with the screenplay, faithfully transferring Harper’s novel from page to screen. The director/writer asked himself, “How do we make this feel like a big muscular, competent detective mystery, and, at the same time, make sure that it’s kind of delivering for an audience? You want the audience to go to the cinema and be excited by the journey. You want them to go there thinking, I can work it out - and the fun of that. People working it out at different times and the parallel crimes, two crimes entwined. It’s a wonderful, wonderful gift for me as a director but incredibly challenging to crack.” He needn’t have worried; he and Cripps have successfully cracked that nut, and there are plenty of suspects and false leads to keep viewers enthralled.
Bana is in top form in The Dry, the first movie he’s made in Australia for some years. His Aaron Falk is as dry as the dusty earth; a bit of a loner, dialogue has to be forced from him and when he does say something, it’s through barely opened lips, as though he doesn’t want to risk the red earth entering his mouth and choking him. The large supporting cast does a great job of playing the residents of Kiewarra, populating the town with a variety of characters, some old timers and some more recent arrivals. Award-winning cinematographer Stefan Duscio has done wonderful things with the wide-screen format, showing the extraordinary landscape in all its harsh beauty. He makes interesting comparisons between the land 20 years ago, when it was still quite green before the drought, and the reds and browns of the present-day country. British composer Peter Raeburn’s score is suitably atmospheric, reflecting the mystery at the heart of the story and the stranglehold that the drought has on the terrain and its inhabitants.
Either The Dry is one of the best films of the latter half of 2020 or the first half of 2021. Whichever way you look at it, don’t miss it.
Screenplay: Robert Connelly and Harry Cripps, based on Jane Harper’s eponymous novel.
Principal cast:
Eric Bana
Genevieve O’Reilly
Keir O’Donnell
Matt Nable
William Zappa
John Polson
Country: Australia/USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 117 mins.
Australian release date: 1 January 2021.
Despite the restrictions brought about by the SARS-CoV-2 bug, it’s been a bumper second half of the year for great Aussie films although, regrettably, some of the better ones have been little-seen. Since July, we’ve been treated to Babyteeth, A Lion Returns and The Furnace, and now we’ve got The Dry and the soon-to-be-released Penguin Bloom and High Ground (yes, the latter three will be seen in January but, initially, they were slated for earlier release dates). It’s quite a list and, if you love home-grown stories, you should do your best to see them all. The Dry, directed and co-written by Robert Connolly, is closely drawn from Jane Harper’s chart-topping novel of the same name. As a director, he’s been working in television in recent years and this film marks his first return to the big screen since 2014’s Paper Planes - and what a return it is.
Beginning with a series of aerial shots of shockingly drought-stricken country in western Victoria, we follow Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) as he drives to the fictional town of Kiewarra, where there’s been no rain for 324 days. He’s a federal cop but he’s returning to his home-town in a private capacity to attend the funeral of one of his mates from the past, Luke (Martin Dingle Wall). Luke, it’s assumed by the locals, was driven mad by the drought and his dying farm, shooting his wife and child then turning the gun on himself. Aaron left Kiewarra 20 years ago after another mysterious death, that of a teenage schoolfriend of both he and Luke, Ellie (BeBe Bettencourt), a tragic event for which he was rumoured to be responsible and he’s not entirely happy to be back. Indeed, old grievances are aired almost immediately when he shows up at the funeral service. The only people slightly pleased to see him are Luke’s parents, Gerry and Barb (Bruce Spence and Julia Blake), and Gretchen (Genevieve O’Reilly), another of his schoolfriends from the past. Gerry wants Aaron to look at Luke’s accounts, convinced that his son is innocent of the crime of which he is accused, and Gretchen? Well, maybe she has other things on her mind. Gradually, the past and the present begin to interconnect and Aaron finds he’s having to ask his bosses for more and more time off. Joining forces with the town’s recently arrived policeman, Greg Raco (Keir O’Donnell), he decides he can’t leave Kiewarra until he’s got to the bottom of both tragedies. The search will keep him, and us, guessing until the very end.
Connolly and his co-scriptwriter Harry Cripps, who also co-wrote the aforementioned Penguin Bloom, have done a terrific job with the screenplay, faithfully transferring Harper’s novel from page to screen. The director/writer asked himself, “How do we make this feel like a big muscular, competent detective mystery, and, at the same time, make sure that it’s kind of delivering for an audience? You want the audience to go to the cinema and be excited by the journey. You want them to go there thinking, I can work it out - and the fun of that. People working it out at different times and the parallel crimes, two crimes entwined. It’s a wonderful, wonderful gift for me as a director but incredibly challenging to crack.” He needn’t have worried; he and Cripps have successfully cracked that nut, and there are plenty of suspects and false leads to keep viewers enthralled.
Bana is in top form in The Dry, the first movie he’s made in Australia for some years. His Aaron Falk is as dry as the dusty earth; a bit of a loner, dialogue has to be forced from him and when he does say something, it’s through barely opened lips, as though he doesn’t want to risk the red earth entering his mouth and choking him. The large supporting cast does a great job of playing the residents of Kiewarra, populating the town with a variety of characters, some old timers and some more recent arrivals. Award-winning cinematographer Stefan Duscio has done wonderful things with the wide-screen format, showing the extraordinary landscape in all its harsh beauty. He makes interesting comparisons between the land 20 years ago, when it was still quite green before the drought, and the reds and browns of the present-day country. British composer Peter Raeburn’s score is suitably atmospheric, reflecting the mystery at the heart of the story and the stranglehold that the drought has on the terrain and its inhabitants.
Either The Dry is one of the best films of the latter half of 2020 or the first half of 2021. Whichever way you look at it, don’t miss it.